Voyages of Discovery and Swan Hellenic

Hi OlsSalt - has been good to exchange info with you about Voyager in the past and will miss your comments and advice.

I think my post was a bit unclear, but the extension of our "post cruise land tour" is next month, mainly in Sri Lanka, with 3 nights in Dubai on our return and a night in the airside hotel, Dubai on the way out to make the flight civilised.

Boudicca etc. is next Oct. I have made comments about Fred before, but for us it is a well priced alternative that is an OK environment for us if we want to go where one of his ship's is going. Main Fred prob from our point of view is set times and tables for dinner, though we tend to get tables for two now if we book earlyish. The self service on board is usually OK as well - though of course cut backs do become apparent. Most passengers are from UK, though some do come from further afield, I think coupling a cruise with a land holiday.

If we could easily afford a more upmarket cruise line we would do it, but prices are so much more on lines that use the more modern small ships. We had inside cabins booked on Voyager and have become used to going away for at least two months every year, so buy em at reasonable cost and pile them high has been our attitude.

We are determined to go to Myanmar and have a good while in Vietnam in the next couple of years, but may well do both as a land holiday(s) now we have realised how easily it can be arranged. We had two port calls in Vietnam (HCMC and Da Nang) a number of years ago (on the Cost Allegra - worse than Fred, but a brilliant itinerary and good value as the £ was strong then). We had always intended to return for a land holiday as we loved it. The years are ticking by now and we both have birthdays looming in the next month or so, which makes us think about that.

Cheers and enjoy whatever you decide to do in the future,

Barbara

Have any of ALG’s non-British customers been contacted yet by DISCOVER THE WORLD?

They represented Voyages of Discovery and Swan Hellenic in the following markets: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and USA. They recently deleted ALG’s brands from the client list on their website. The website is discovertheworld .com.

Yes it really is true!

Have just received the chargeback on the credit card for the deposit for one cruise and part deposit for the other. The system does work! (and this is from one of the big 4!)

Have already booked land based holiday in Mauritius to replace the lost March cruise.

Have any of ALG’s non-British customers been contacted yet by DISCOVER THE WORLD?

 

 

They represented Voyages of Discovery and Swan Hellenic in the following markets: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and USA. They recently deleted ALG’s brands from the client list on their website. The website is discovertheworld .com.

The USA office, Discover the World, sent an email to passengers with bookings (one email per booking number) on January 12. An excerpt read:

'Please be aware the we are currently researching the process to be followed for passengers and travel agents and will reach out to you with more information once it is available.' I followed-up yesterday with the office, and they have no further updates or time estimate when the process will be available.

We had two claims made to the same credit card company (a major UK bank) for two different cruises, and have received a refund of our deposit for the Feb 2018 cruise, all of which was paid on the credit card.

We are still waiting for the refund for the cruise which was due early Feb to early March this year, but that claim was far more involved. There were a number of different payments, most not made on the credit card. All, or at least the vast majority, of those payments should still be covered under section 75 ( a credit card claim). Hence we expect that claim to take longer, but if any payments are not accepted (e.g. trips) we should be able to claim from elsewhere - ATOL or travel insurance. We just tried the credit card first.

Finally got the last bit of our replacement bookings sorted this morning, so pretty much happy bunnies at present and can look forward to the first of those new bookings, which starts in about a month. At least we have been able to locate funds to replace the bookings, it has been bad enough trying to get the other arrangements in place all at once, without having to worry about immediate cash flow.

End of an era, tring. Learned last night the old MV Discovery had been scrapped and cut up somewhere south of Suez. Fitting for the grand places she once called home. May she salute all those who pass their way to exotic shores, silently now. R.I.P.

Good news you were able to somewhat seamlessly move on to your new plans and be financially intact.

End of an era, tring. Learned last night the old MV Discovery had been scrapped and cut up somewhere south of Suez. Fitting for the grand places she once called home. May she salute all those who pass their way to exotic shores, silently now. R.I.P.

I presume it was partly to do with your very well worded posting, but that news did leave me feeling sad. It is all very eerie, rather like hearing of a death. Getting the official, legally worded letter about the demise of All Leisure from the administrators, had a very sobering effect as well. I am much more saddened about the loss of both VOD and Swan than I realised at first.

Our first cruise ever was taken in 2006 on Minerva II. We spent 26 nights on board from Madeira, spent a full two weeks up the Amazon, sailed up the Orinoco and anchored before sailing back down and eventually ending the cruise in Barbados. We should have docked up the Orinoco, but did not have time as plans were to sail through the night, but night navigation had been curtailed. We learned at a later date from an ex member of Swan's staff that the locals had been nicking the buoys and trying to sell them back to the ships that passed along the river! Another example of the things you hear about and experience when travelling :) I have never seen an itinerary to match what we did in the Amazon since then, even on the upmarket ships.

Strangely, we had been due to traverse Suez for the first time on Voyager in Feb 2018. Our new plans for next autumn on Boudicca will take us through Suez, albeit in the other direction. I will remember your words when in that region. Do you know were she was she actually scrapped - was it somewhere in the Red Sea?

Barbara

Here is the sad obituary for the MV Discovery - she was scrapped in Alang India - it must have been brutal: I just can't let go of her as I see her in my mind. https://malcolmoliver.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/mv-discovery-scrapped-2/

Does anyone know what is happening with the Minerva and the Voyager? Will they be sold or . . . ?

The newer Voyager had an awkward layout for what it intended to be: a high enrichment, low frills cruise ship - mainly in the lack of a proper lecture hall space and enclosed viewing space. The sliding glass dome Lido deck area of the old Discovery was also sorely missed. The new ship simply did not work, nor do justice to what VOD has/had to offer. Hard to know who would want that ship - though I believe it was able to go into ice areas like the Antarctic.

Maybe it could be sold to the Russians for their Northern Arctic Siberian passage routes they are contemplating. Running from Kirkenes, Norway at the end of the Hurtigruten "bus" route, and into Murmansk, the White Sea, Solovetsky Archipelago and UNESCO Monestary and Archangel is a great option for Russian tourism. Very romantic and historic part of this immense country with the haunting allure of the vast taiga. It would be a real shot in the arm for this economically depressed and currently cruise remote area.

I think I may have mentioned previously that if the deposit for a the cruise was paid by credit card, then other money paid subsequently, even if paid by debit card, is covered by section 75.

Whilst legally that is true, it appears that the credit card companies are asking people to claim any money not paid with their credit cards, from ATOL. My husband has just spoken to ATOL and they also say money not paid by credit card should definitely be claimed from them in this instance.

He was also told verbally by ATOL that payments for All Leisure excursions, will be covered by them, if not paid by credit card,(when they can be claimed from the credit card company).

Our claim needs re vamped now as we had claimed the whole lot from the credit card company.............

Good luck all.

Looks like the Swan brand and past passenger list has been bought by G adventures (who bought the land based holiday companies from All Leisure). There are a few links coming up, but no mention of the ship to be used, but the plans appear to be to re start in 2018.

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=7505

Note purchase of Swan Hellenic & their hope that itineraries will relaunch 2018. Wonder if passenger lists bought restricted to SH or will include VoD.

I have seen no mention of VOD, though I thought the databases were probably combined as I think they gave a loyalty discount for any All Leisure cruise taken previously, in fact when we took our first Swan cruise under All Leisure, the member of staff who did the on board cruise sales said they should have honoured our previous cruise taken when Swan was run by Carnival and given us the -5%. I suspect many people, like us have been on both Swan and VOD (we have used Swan when it was useful to have the trips e.g.Iceland).

It is a bit unclear though as I think I read somewhere that both brands were up for sale, which makes sense.

I also wonder about data protection, because after the demise of Swan under Carnival, we were contacted and asked if we agreed to our details being passed to Lord Sterling, who bought the Swan brand/database. Perhaps the database has not actually been handed over yet, or perhaps the receivers have put something on the website that their letter said would be used for future communication.

I checked the Voyages Of Discovery UK website today. It says "Voyages of Discovery Coming Soon". Plus, at the bottom of the page in small print "G Adventures 2017".

Perhaps this means that they have also bought the VoD brand?

I checked the Voyages Of Discovery UK website today. It says "Voyages of Discovery Coming Soon". Plus, at the bottom of the page in small print "G Adventures 2017".

 

Perhaps this means that they have also bought the VoD brand?

Interesting - well spotted.

Notice Minerva is on the move due south from Marseilles.

Any news anyone?

Love that ship.

So sad for a great crew!!!!!!,. Same for Voyager!

I have received my refund for v of d cruise ( no flights ) from abta. Very satisfied with how it has handled.

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We also got a refund of the deposit for our VoD cruise from ATOL last week (we had paid by debit card). It took about a month. :D

I can't find any information on which ship G Adventures, (the new owners of the Swan Hellenic brand), will be using, unfortunately.

We got a refund of all cruise payments yesterday direct from the cruise agent we had booked through. All that is now outstanding is the original £500 deposit which we have led to expect will be refunded by ABTA by the end of the month.

Much happier now that the bulk of the money is back in my account!!

I found this in The Daily Telegraph Cruise News dated 18 February: "For the second time in a decade the 60 year old cultural cruise line Swan Hellenic has been saved from collapse. The brand has been acquired by Toronto- based adventure travel company G Adventures.

The firm has bought both Swan Hellenic and sister company Voyages of Discovery but confirmed it will only relaunch Swan. It only owns the brands and has no ship, but plans to announce itineraries this summer for cruises departing in 2018."

We got our refund from Discover (the North American agent for Minerva) on February 9th. Hopefully the Minerva and Voyager will return with the same great staff/itineraries/food/etc.!

Hello there, Just wondering if anyone else is still waiting to be reimbursed for their Voyages of Discovery cruise following the collapse of this cruise line? I don't seem to be getting much info on the progress of claims.

June

Recently received repayment of all monies for one cruise booked via ROL to VoD from ATOL, but still awaiting repayment of monies for preceding one which had been paid directly to VoD, from ATOL. Have also received deposit via ABTA for lost forthcoming cruise (no flights). All taking time!

Many thanks for your reply, its reassuring news that things are progressing, albeit slowly.

Given the number of claims and complexity of the situation overall it is to be expected I guess.

Take care,

June